Jakarta. Indonesia respects France’s conditional release of the transferred drug convict Serge Atlaoui, according to Chief Legal Affairs Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra.

Indonesia sent Atlaoui, a French national on death row for a drug conviction, back to his home country in February. Jakarta had agreed to repatriate Atlaoui, who was suffering from cancer, for humanitarian reasons.

The Frenchman had spent almost two decades on death row in Indonesia after being accused of being a chemist in a clandestine drug manufacturing operation in Tangerang back in 2005. Initially sentenced to life imprisonment, the Supreme Court later upgraded it to the death penalty two years later. His execution was initially slated for April 2015. Indonesia -- a country known for its tough stance on drug trafficking -- had also rejected clemency that same year.

The French courts later adjusted Atlaoui’s sentence to 30 years of imprisonment following the transfer. Given the years spent in Indonesian prison, they approved Atlaoui for conditional release on July 18. His release will be subject to follow-up obligations.

"The courts’ decision allows the French government to grant a conditional release of Atlaoui by considering how he had served 20 years of imprisonment in Indonesia,” Yusril was quoted as saying in a press statement on Thursday.

Both governments had signed the practical arrangement in January 2025, a document that would enable Atlaoui’s transfer. According to Yusril, Paris had acknowledged Atlaoui’s wrongdoings. Under “humanitarian and reciprocal grounds”, the two sides agreed to return the 61-year-old man back home. This agreement also shifts the responsibility of Atlaoui’s sentence to Paris.

 “Once he returns to France, it is up to the French government to decide whether Atlaoui gets executed, forgiven, or his sentence reduced,” he said.

“A prisoner transfer is reciprocal. So if an Indonesian convict gets repatriated by the French government, we can do the same as what the French government is doing to Atlaoui,” Yusril said, alluding to the possibility of Jakarta adjusting the sentence once that happens.

Atlaoui’s transfer followed a similar repatriation of Filipino drug convict Mary Jane Veloso back in December.

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